Canada-born midfielder Mikael Cantave is nearing a return to Haiti national team duty as Les Grenadiers prepare for two World Cup qualifiers next month.
The Caribbean country will head to Bridgetown in June to face St. Lucia and Barbados, kickstarting the second round of group qualification. Head coach Sebastien Migne has tallied 31 names on the country’s preliminary squad list, but will whittle that selection down ahead of the games.
Last October saw Mikael return to the Haiti national team for the first time in two years, featuring in two Nations League matches against Suriname and Jamaica. Before that, he’d last featured for Haiti in a World Cup qualifier back in 2021, before his time in Canada’s top flight.
Forge’s Garven Metusala is also on Haiti’s preliminary list, as are a couple other Canada-based players in Whitecaps forward Fabrice Picault and TFC’s Derrick Etienne.
Get To Know: Mikael Cantave
The forward featured for seventy-two minutes against Atletico Ottawa this weekend, which is his largest outing of the season thus far. He’d come off the bench in five other matches ahead of that, but seems to be finding his fitness.
Born in Ottawa, Cantave is eligible to represent Haiti through his father, and has made thirteen appearances for the country since his debut in 2018. He’d featured for Canada at the U-17 level before that.
Mikaël G.Cantave fait aussi partie des présélectionnés annoncés par S. Migné, ce qui porte le nombre à 31 joueurs parmi lesquels le français choisira sa liste finale pour le voyage à Bridgetown en vue des 2 matchs face à Ste Lucie et à la Barbade en éliminatoires du Mondial 2026. pic.twitter.com/ANZhjwcSPO
While it remains to be seen if Mikael Cantave’s name will appear on the finalized roster, his stock in the national team setup has clearly risen between his time with Cavalry and Vancouver FC.
With the matches against St. Lucia and Barbados set to play in June 6 and 9, his potential national team duty may see him miss the club’s away trip to York United on June 9…but he should be back in time for a home game set in for Kelowna.
Header Image Photo Credit: Beau Chevalier
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